PGTI to boost prize money for next season, CEO Amandeep Johl says

PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl said on Thursday in New Delhi, on the sidelines of the DP World India Championship, that the Professional Golf Tour of India plans to increase prize money across its events next season. He outlined a shift in scheduling and tournament structure alongside the announcement.

Johl described a move away from the current week-in-week-out calendar toward a mix of smaller events in 'B' cities and larger tournaments with significantly higher purses. “We are going to switch from having the week-in-week-out tournaments. We will have the smaller tournaments in ‘B’ cities. We want to have bigger tournaments - ₹1.5 to ₹2 crore prize money upwards. The plan is to upgrade the existing tournaments,” Johl said.

He said the upgraded events would carry more world-ranking points and create routes for young players who miss qualifying school. “We want to make them higher prize money tournaments, with more world-ranking points, and then provide an opportunity to the youngsters who miss out on qualifying school,” Johl said.

Johl also confirmed progress on the PGTI’s schedule, saying two ADT events slated for February have nearly been finalised. That confirmation was presented as part of the broader plan to alter the tour’s event mix and prize structure ahead of the next season.

On sponsorship strategy, Johl pointed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India as a model for attracting major brands to the sport. “Brands make an organisation. I’m only following the BCCI model. All the BCCI presidents brought in the big brands. We do not need to reinvent the wheel, just copy them. The money will follow, and the game will grow,” Johl said.

Johl’s comments came during media activity at the DP World India Championship and set out a timetable for changes the PGTI intends to implement next season, including upgraded purses and the near-finalisation of the two February ADT events.